


Topaz and Diamonds

by Kanako_Hime



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Black Moon Take-Over, Esmeraude is crazy, F/M, Neutral Wiseman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 12:46:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16492883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanako_Hime/pseuds/Kanako_Hime
Summary: How Prince Diamond fell in love. AU, told in drabbles.





	Topaz and Diamonds

Bored violet eyes took in the latest haul in front of him. Ever since their clan had been victorious and claimed Crystal Tokyo (and the ethereal Palace), the dregs of human society had taken the opportunity to emerge from the shadows and bring back practises long banished under the White Moon Clan. Such as the practise of slavery. Sapphire and Rubeus chose several of the stronger-looking ones - there were always more soldiers needed to defend them - while the four Spectre Sisters chose some females as maid-servants for themselves.

Presumably, they'd last as long as the previous ones, he mused, taking a sip of his wine.

A flash of ivory-white hair caught his eye as the trader yanked a bedraggled-looking girl from the bunch.  _No-one had hair like his._  She was plain compared to the beauties of his court, but when fiery amber eyes met his, something within him softened.

"Has one of them caught your eye, Highness?" Wiseman asked quietly.

"The girl," he replied. "With the white hair."

His adviser observed the girl with a critical eye. "If she were cleaned up, she would be quite presentable," he agreed. "Shall I make the arrangements?"

Diamond bent his head in agreement.

* * *

They met properly in his study, a room that had once belonged to that loathsome King Endymion, and overlooked the palace training grounds. He took a sip of wine as his eyes swept over her once more.

"Do you understand everything I require of you?" he asked.

"Yes, my prince," she replied frigidly.

"Work hard to please me," he continued, ignoring her icy demeanour. "And you shall want for nothing."

"Except freedom. I will still be a trapped animal in the menagerie you call a court,  _my lord._ "

"You will soon understand-"

"I _understand_ well enough." The ice had been replaced by fire, he noted with some amusement. "And I have  _no_  desire to live with a target on my back because I am your whore."

"Such a vulgar word."

"Whore, concubine, mistress." She laughed harshly, and the sound caused a strange swooping sensation in his stomach. "They all mean the same thing, in the end."

"Do you believe that refusing my favour will set you free?" he asked curiously. "Or, perhaps you fear that I will tire of you?"

"I cannot refuse your favour," she sighed, hugging her arms to her chest. "You have offered me gifts far greater than any servant should have. A private room. A garden of my own. Fine food. Exquisite clothing." The sleeve of the violet silk gown she was wearing received a reverent stroke of her fingers. "But you will tire of me. I refuse to become so complacent as to believe that you will never tire of me. I only ask that if you do, one day, will you set me free?"

Diamond drank her in; immaculately combed hair that fell in lush waves to her hips, a slender wand of a body clothed in his colours, eyes of topaz that watched him with mixed wariness and resignation. So delicate. So strong.

"When I tire of you," he agreed.

All his.

* * *

She was lonely. She was a slave in a court full of highly-trained, Black Moon servants and courtiers. Once it was clear that she refused to divulge information about herself or carry petitions to Diamond, she had lost her value for the inhabitants.

She stepped out of her room and onto the covered walkway that ran along the back of the palace. The morning sky was clear and blue, and the sunlight was reaching into every corner of the garden to banish the shadows. Diamond was in the garden, as he usually was on these beautiful days, and a gaggle of ostentatiously-dressed and overly-perfumed women followed. She could hear their simpering from across the flower beds.

Diamond and his sycophants wandered towards where she stood, and she bowed as he approached. He surprised her by pausing. "Will you join me tonight after dinner?"

His shoulders were tight with tension and his voice was thin. She nodded and bowed again. "And before dinner as well, if you wish, my prince."

His eyes brightened marginally. "It would," he agreed, before continuing on.

She watched as his frame was fraught with tension once more as he was plied with questions and flattery. A thought struck her, shaking her carefully constructed beliefs about the dispassionate, unyielding prince to the core.

Maybe he was lonely, too.

* * *

He wasn't surprised to find her mingling with the human servants in one of the inner courtyards one morning. Her beautiful voice was lost among the servants' as they sang together, but she was laughing again, and her cheeks were pink with happiness.

"What is it like to be the Prince's slave?" came the inevitable question.

"It's fine," she replied with a polite smile. "He treats me well."

"And what does he get in return?" asked another, leaning forward with a suggestive lift of his eyebrow.

"Hold your tongue," she warned. "He isn't cruel. He would never hurt me. He hasn't laid a finger on me."

"They don't care about anything but power," said one. "Least of all, some temporary amusement."

"I did think that, but-"

"Does he even know your name?" interrupted another.

He watched her blush. "I don't know," she admitted.

* * *

There was no sound, no light in the room, save the dim light of the stars through the window. For her to remain a secret, to remain hidden from Emerald and her over-zealous family as they made yet another bid to make her his Queen,  _she_  had to be more than just protected. She had to be invisible. Emerald was known for her jealous rages, and he would not let such a rare creature fall into the obnoxious woman's hands. So her voice would not be heard throughout the palace, but at least he had these moments with her. To have her with him alone was intoxicating.

He crossed the room in bare feet and settled down in what was becoming his customary chair, staring at the painted screen in front of him. He draped an arm over the arm rest and cleared his throat. "Are you still awake?"

There was a swish of fabric and a soft breath.

"Yes," came the sleepy reply. 

"Are you well?" he asked as she sat up in her cot, facing the screen that separated them. A screen that he had placed there to ease her mind during her impromptu stay that he would not violate her privacy. "Do you have everything that you need?"

"Yes, my prince," she replied. "But I wish I could leave this room."

"Emerald and her family leave in a days' time. I'll not be asking them to extend their visit."

"I hear people out in the garden sometimes," she said, her voice cautious. "They say that the visitors have cast a spell over the castle, that there's a dark cloud over us."

He scoffed. "That's the feeling that Emerald creates wherever she goes. Don't listen to meaningless gossip."

"I don't have much else to listen to, my lord," she muttered.

"That means that the wards are holding," he said. "Things would grow very interesting, very quickly if you left my chambers. But, for now, they do not even know you're in the palace."

"You don't believe that," she said with such certainty it made him shiver. "Servants talk, sire. Someone has said something."

"They don't know where you are, then," he amended.

"Perhaps." A light sigh came from the room. "So," she continued after a moment, "shall I read to you, my lord?"

"No, not tonight. It's late," he said. 

"Oh." There was a long pause. "What  _do_  you want, my lord?"

"A moment of peace," he muttered. "A normal conversation that does not include troops or rebels or undue flattery."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Only  _undue_  flattery?"

he almost smiled in return. "You know what I mean," he rejoined. "Perhaps you can tell me about yourself."

"It's not an interesting story, my lord," she replied. "I grew up with my brother and sister. We had an uncle who cared for us, but he died soon after my third birthday. I don't remember him very well."

"What happened to him?"

"Nothing dramatic," she murmured. "He caught an illness from some travellers and succumbed to the disease. We were cared for by the priestesses after that. We used to clean the temple and work in the fields, the same as anyone else." Her voice caught. "I worry about my family."

Diamond frowned at the screen, imagining the expression she would have at that moment. It made him uneasy. "Who took you?"

There was a soft sigh. "A human. He heard me singing in the fields and when I foolishly wandered too far from home, he stole me. He sold me for some alcohol and a few rolls of fabric to the trader that you met."

"Why did he not keep you?" he asked.

"I was costing him more money than I was worth," she replied evasively. The comforting words that rose in his throat were so foreign that he had trouble pressing them down again. He was still her captor, after all.

"I thought you might have had formal training," he said. "In music, or dance, perhaps." There was a pause as she composed herself for his awkward attempt to shift the conversation to safer topics.

"No, my lord," she murmured. "I like music, but I am not exceptional. My brother is the musician in the family, and my sister sings so sweetly, she lures birds from the trees with her song."

"They sound talented," he agreed. The sun had started to rise, slowly lighting the room with its rays. An yellow glow surrounded her silhouette, marking out her profile in hazy light. "But don't belittle your own talents, Eos."

She froze for a moment in surprise.

"Thank you, my lord," she said, her lips moving into a broad smile that he could hear as well.

He knew that she was remembering the accusation levelled by the humans - that he did not even know the name of his favoured slave - but he did not mention it. He had been eavesdropping on servants - a most undignified act. But she should know that they could not have been more wrong. He had known her name from the beginning. He would have known it, even if he had never heard it spoken aloud.

"You should sleep," he said, getting to his feet. "I woke you too early."

"Thank you," she said again, sleepy but pleased. He promised that he would return soon and made his way across the room once more, but the door snapped open before he could make a quiet escape.

"Emerald," the prince said, greeting the unwelcome visitor with a glare. "You are not allowed here."

The woman's dull brown eyes floated over his shoulder to gaze into his room. "Forgive me, Prince Diamond," she replied smoothly. "I lost my way in your grand home."

"I will personally accompany you back to your quarters, if you wish."

"Oh, surely I needn't go so far away," she purred, a smile spreading across her face. "Perhaps I may stay a while? Prove you with some... _entertainment_?"

"You'll find yourself flung out the window if you try that stunt," Diamond snapped, moving forward and pushing out the odious woman before snapping the door closed behind him. "And  _that_  is a spectacle that would amuse me greatly." He straightened and pulled the best blank look that he possessed. "Was there something else I could do for you?"

"Nothing, sire," Emerald replied with a snarl. "I bid you a good morning, Prince Diamond."

* * *

He appeared in her doorway precisely on time, to find her hurriedly pulling a brush through her hair.

"I'm almost finished, my prince," she promised from her seat in front of the mirror.

Stepping into the room, he cast an eye over the bundle in the middle of the floor. "It's just a dinner for the family and close servants," he said. "There's no need to change clothing."

She stood and pulled a pair of ivory, lacquered combs out of a drawer. He reached down and brushed along one comb's teeth with a finger. They were plain and poorly worked in his eyes - just one of the many accessories that had been brought to her so that she could look presentable in front of the court - but she seemed to enjoy touching their smooth surfaces.

"Why are you wearing such ornaments?"

She blinked at him and pulled the light shawl off her shoulders to reveal a golden gown underneath it.

"This is a family dinner for your cousin, isn't it?" she asked. "For his recent victory in the south?"

"This is for him?" he asked, trying to keep his voice cool. "Rubeus doesn't care about finery."

"But you do," she said. "I only wanted to represent  _you_  adequately."

He swallowed, instantly feeling like a fool. 

"You represent me well, regardless of what you wear," he murmured, earning himself a small smile and blush.

_Perhaps better than I deserve,_  he added silently.

* * *

He ran into her in the crystal garden one evening, where two brooks joined to form a miniature waterfall. He beckoned to her as Wiseman ushered the others in his retinue away.

"Come."

She followed him up the smooth, marble pathway that someone, long ago, had laid lovingly for the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo. Their footsteps drowned out the sound of the brook babbling beside them, and Diamond eventually stopped at the large, ornate fountain in the centre of the gardens.

"Rubeus is at the border leading into Europe. The White Moon claims this," he said, gesturing to the serene orb in the sky, "but it will be mine."

"Why? You already control most of Asia, and I know that you don't enjoy the amount of duties you already have."

"Enjoying something is different than needing it," he said. "You understand that."

She had never seen surrender in his features before, but meeting his eyes, she knew what it meant. He was suddenly so  _very_  close to her, and his lips were warm against hers. His fingertips skimmed the back of her neck, making her shudder under his touch. She sank into him for a moment, daring to lift her hand to brush the line of his jaw, before she pulled away.

"Don't," she whispered, still close enough to breath in his scent. "Please, don't make me do this."

"You'll be well taken care of," he murmured.

"I already am," Eos answered. "I accept that I'm your slave, and I know that if you command me to bed, I will have to submit. But, please. This isn't fair."

He drew back, his fingers still in her hair. "I would have you willingly," he said.  She shook her head.

"Even so, you would grow to think less of me." She paused. "And I of you. I couldn't do it."

He studied her for a long moment before his hand dropped back to his side. "Go and rest," he said, turning to watch the water bubble in the fountain.

Eos hesitated.

"Prince Diamond," she whispered. He didn't move, but she knew she had his attention. "I'm sorry. I desire to be the love of a man, not to be used to sate the lust of a conqueror."

His eyes widened as she fled.

It took him almost a full day to wrap his head around it - she had  _rejected_  him. The most beautiful and powerful females of his kingdom schemed and plotted to get him in their beds, but this slip of a girl had refused such an honour. It was almost crippling in its implications alone. 

He did not  _want_  to need her. But the idea that she had put in his head - the idea of only belonging to and enjoying one other - was more enticing than he would like to admit. He understood why she would want it so badly. He was probably the only one that understood it so well. 

But understanding was not consent, and he was left to wonder if he could piece together what they had had before.


End file.
